Pigs Are Worth It Campaign Scoops Cannes Lions Award

LONDON - The prestigious Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival has announced the winners of its inaugural awards for public relations work.

The ‘Pigs Are Worth It!’ campaign for the public body representing pig farmers in England (BPEX) has won a Best PR-led Integrated Campaign award. The initiative was executed by a truly integrated team of agencies: Good Relations (consumer PR), Weber Shandwick (public affairs), HD Communications (trade PR) and DDB (advertising).

The creative campaign succeeded in encouraging supermarkets to raise the price of pork paid to farmers in crisis, effectively saving the British pig industry.

“The Cannes Lions Festival recognising public relations excellence for the first time is a great step forward for PR professionals and we are delighted to be part of this first ever Cannes Lions public relations win,” said Colin Byrne, CEO, Weber Shandwick UK & Europe.

“This campaign demonstrated what can be achieved with an integrated approach to public relations. The whole truly was much greater than the sum of the parts. We are delighted that Cannes judges recognised the quality and results of the campaign,” said Teresa-Ann Dunleavy, managing director of Good Relations.

“It is hard to accurately gauge the overall financial impact of the campaign on the pig industry. But a spend measured in six figures made a huge contribution to pig farmers, helping prevent millions upon millions of pounds of losses. This success was due to the combined skills and experience of all our agencies and a truly integrated approach,” said Chris Lamb, head of marketing, BPEX.

In its first year, the PR category received 431 entries from around the world. From a shortlist of 37, the jury chose to award 17 PR Lions.

The 56th International Advertising Festival - Cannes Lions – is being held from 21-27 June 2009. It is the largest gathering of worldwide advertising professionals and advertisers.

About Weber Shandwick
Weber Shandwick is a leading global public relations agency with offices in 77 markets around the world. The firm’s reputation is built on its deep commitment to client service, creativity, collaboration and harnessing the power of Advocates — engaging stakeholders in new and creative ways to build brands and reputation. Weber Shandwick provides strategy and execution across practices such as consumer marketing, healthcare, technology, public affairs, corporate/financial and crisis management. Its specialized services include digital/social media, advocacy advertising, market research, and corporate responsibility. Weber Shandwick was named Global Agency of the Year by The Holmes Report and Large PR Firm of the Year by PR News in 2008. The firm also won the United Nations Grand Award for Outstanding Achievement in Public Relations an unprecedented three times. Weber Shandwick is part of the Interpublic Group (NYSE: IPG). For more information, visit http://www.webershandwick.com/.